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La Russe
Formation: Square
Difficulty: 1
Style: English
A1: | All go past your partner by left shoulder to meet next person of opposite sex, who should be coming towards you; balance and swing. (To end the swing the man lets the woman roll off his right arm towards her home position, rather than just dumping her.) |
A2: | Face partner (who should be coming towards you already), balance once or twice and swing. |
B1: | 1s keep swinging. |
B2: | 1s promenade inside set, successively greeting 2s 3s and 4s (nodding/bowing/...), ending in place. |
A3: | 1s and 3s cross, 3s arching, partners change places with a California twirl; cross back and change places again. |
A4: | Repeat A3. |
B3: | Circle left all the way (16 steps). |
B4: | Promenade back to place (anticlockwise). |
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Repeat for 2s (2s and 4s cross first with 4s arching) 3s, 4s (2s and 4s cross first). |
To enliven
A3 and
A4, have the 2s and 4s cross on the heels of the 1s and 3s. The dancers need to be nifty.
In some areas
A3 and
A4 are stepped (rant-step).
This was originally a 19th century quadrille. More information here
Music: Own tune
or
Thumbnail: Balance and swing contraries, ditto partner, 1s keep swinging then promenade, crossing, circle and promenade home.